Derailed (2005, Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston)

Decidedly gripping Derailed stars the always excellent Clive Owen as advertising executive Charles Shine whose life begins to literally derail after he meets fellow exec Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) on the morning train to work.

Both are married but after Lucinda shouts Charles his train fare one morning the pair soon discover a very mutual attraction and before you can say extra marital affair the pair are planning to spend the evening together in a shady motel, before events can go too far the pair are attacked in their room by a mugger who beats seven shades of you know what out of Shine and brutally rapes Lucinda, from their things go rapidly downhill for Shine, the mugger, called LaRoche (a brilliant performance by Vincent Cassel who rose to prominence in the controversial Irreversible) is soon demanding $20,000 or he will spill the beans to Shines wife, unaccountably Shine decides to pay up whereupon La Roche steps up his blackmail campaign and is now demanding $100,000…

To say anymore would totally spoil the movie, there is a whole Hitchcock vibe going on but the movie most closely resembles Nicole Kidman’s Birthday Girl, there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right until the very end, one does get the impression that Aniston’s role is somewhat wasted, she looks beautiful but her screen time isn’t that huge and whilst Owen gets the bulk of the movie it’s really Cassel who grabs the attention every time he appears, incredibly vicious but able to appear smooth as silk.

production details
UK – US | 108 minutes | 2005

Director: Mikael Håfström
Script: Stuart Beattie, Temple Clark, James Siegel,

cast
Clive Owen as Charles Schine
Jennifer Aniston as Lucinda Harris
Vincent Cassel as LaRoche
Denis O’Hare as Jerry the Lawyer
David Morrissey as Sam Griffin
William Armstrong as Accountant
Tom Conti as Eliot Firth
Richard Leaf as Night Clerk Ray
Rachael Blake as Susan Davis
Melissa George as Deanna Schine
Addison Timlin as Amy Schine
Xzibit as Dexter
RZA as Winston Boyko
Sandra Bee as Train Conductor
Catherine McCord as Avery Price Receptionist
Georgina Chapman as Candy
Giancarlo Esposito as Detective Church
David Oyelowo as Patrol Officer
Jennifer Joan Taylor as Real Estate Agent